Daigo is the best sushi in the Palo Alto area. We recently tried them (about 9 months ago), and we have been addicted ever since. I'm always craving a naruto or negihama roll. I love the secluded atmosphere... since it is tucked behind birch st cafe, there is no crowd and usually it is easy to get in. The service is super nice and quick. I often can get in and out within 30 min for a short lunch and within an hour for a leisurely dinner. Honestly, the quality is just as good as nobu, and the price is much lower! Daigo is my go to spot for a sushi fix. ITEMS: * Edamame: super fresh, warm, perfectly cooked 10/10 * Miso soup: flavorful & comforting! don't usually order b/c of soy allergy but would risk the stomach ache for this. 9/10 * Naruto: the best thing on the menu.... the fish inside the roll is so fresh and yummy. you don't miss the rice at all since the cucumber is so refreshing and crispy. 11/10 * Salmon & bigeye tuna sashimi: amazing quality & price. pretty large slices 10/10 * Negihama (yellowtail w/scallion) roll: amazing quality fish with warm rice and crisp nori. 10/10 read more

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The fish is very good quality and there are a large variety of different types of fish which aren't common. It is on the pricey side, but you get what you paid for. The service is good and and it's a small space so they're always around. read more

Daigo - Sushi Bars Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Tempura mushrooms Salmon crudo Caterpillar roll: average Nigiri All tasty, small portion read more

Daigo - Sushi Bars Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Small little hole in the wall with a cute patio seating area (4-6 tables). Inside has about 4 tables + sushi bar seating. Was lucky to be able to walk in and get a seat. Recommend to get a reservation. Great overall experience. The staff was friendly and food came out relatively quickly seeing as how busy they were. All the food was of great quality and presented well. Ended up ordering Karaage, Eryngi Tempura (King Oyster Mushroom), Kaki Fry, Asari Butter Sakamushi, and a few choice pieces of sashimi and sushi/nigiri. Karaage was on the higher side of standard, still really tasty and would order. Eryngi Tempura was my favorite of the 3 fried items. Juicy, crispy, and a hit of salty. Definitely a must try. Kaki Fry had fresh oysters, juicy and crispy. Can't ask for mush more. Asari Butter Sakamushi was super umami and tasty. The combo of soy and butter is just too addictive. For the sushi and sashimi all had very fresh and tasty fish. It's pretty much pick by pieces. The highlighted ones that I enjoyed were: Tachiuo and Toro. Definitely will be back to try more read more

Daigo - Karaage, Eryngi Tempura, Asarai Buttee, Sakamushi, Kaki Fry, and sashimi/nigiri/maki - Sushi Bars Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Fabulous quality and wonderful flavors. Enjoyed watching the sushi chefs do their magic at this small gem. read more

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Restaurant is difficult to find (located in an alley); however, there's a parking garage right behind it. Limited seats inside, extremely tight but plenty of seats outside on patio. If it's wasn't for the service, I'd give this place 4-5 stars. There was an issue already the moment we walked in. Someone asked us if we had a reservation. We responded saying "yes" at least 3x. Another employee came out asking us the same thing and we gave the same answer (Jason was his name). We got seated on the L side of the restaurant. Facing the wall. About 5-10 mins in, we noticed the bar seats was available but waited for someone to come to us/bring us our first food to ask if we could move. Jason brought out our hamachi shots and then as he's walking away, I asked "excuse me. I have a question." He automatically responded "no you cannot move there. There's a reservation there already." I said "excuse me?" He then replied back saying "I saw you guys eyeing the spot. We have someone coming." No exaggeration. Exactly how our convo went. As he continue to periodically serve us throughout the night, I was disgusted by the way he approached us so I didn't looked or thanked him. BTW, he also brought out a wrong dish to our table. THANK YOU to all the other staff who served us well. At the end of the night, as we were departing, my boyfriend pulled him aside and said "what happened to those seats?" He gave some response I'm sure about that "reserved" seats being a no-show. Bottom line, it would've been nice if you continued to follow up after 15 mins of not seeing that party showed up to ask us whether we would like to move seats. So Jason: this is for you. Your customer service was subpar. Rough day, rough night, rough week. I get it. Been there.. But that's no excuse nor is that appropriate to rudely welcome guests from the beginning. Perhaps ask your colleagues. Maybe you'll learn a thing or two. FOOD: we ordered 10 piece omakase w/ hand roll, Uni/Wagyu. Will I be back? Probably not. People will remember how you make them feel. What a disappointment. read more

Sushi was amazing. Not that much interaction with the sushi chef but the quality of the fish is up there

This is one hidden gem of a sushi place in Palo Alto that serves amazing quality fish! I came across the place randomly while looking for a sushi place with outdoor dining in the area and was delighted to try it out! The outdoor patio is hidden in an alleyway behind Bistro Elan and has limited amount of tables so I recommend calling and reserving a table before going there. You can find parking along the straight or park in the public parking close by. The staff are extremely friendly and professional and always ensure you are being taken care of. Let's talk about the best part now.. SUSHI! We ordered a miso soup, seaweed salad and octopus karaage and enjoyed every one of them. The maki rolls served in this place are just perfect. The quality of fish is outstanding and the rolls are beautifully designed and portioned. Every bite you will eat will be an indulgence. We ordered Chutoro (blue fin tuna), Zuke Sake Toro (Salmon belly), and Hamachi sashimi and every piece just melts in your mouth. Absolutely amazing! The Yusuf cheesecake was really a nice finish after the quality fish. Overall experience: Highly highly highly recommended for a nice fancy sushi dinner or just looking for quality fish! read more

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Overrated. They have a lot of one-time clients. The lack of a price in the card causes unambiguous feelings. I will not write if I liked it because everyone has to try, what it tastes like for something for $ 75 per person. For this amount, you can really eat tasty for two. the quality of the dishes *** approach to the client * read more

What a deal! I came here with not too many expectations since the other omakase spots more up north I wanted to check out didn't have any more reservations and this looked pretty good. Reservations are only by phone and it was pretty simple. They have indoor and outdoor seating, the outdoor being covered by a canopy with heat lamps as well. Food: -Hamachi shooter: Very tasty and ponzu forward, I'm not sure what else added to the crunch but the tobiko and that gave it a nice variety of flavor in addition to the quail egg glossing over everything once you pop it. -Omakase: 10pc nigiri+ Wagyu + Negitoro Handroll: This is definitely one of the better deals for omakase that you can get in the bay area ~$86! Though it is a bit different as they use brown rice instead of white, it wasn't very noticeable that it was brown rice beside the color as there was no taste of the husk either. All of the fish here was incredibly fresh and I'm surprised this place isn't visited more often. The only dislike I had was the aoebi (blue shrimp) that I didn't enjoy as much, though the other people in my party didn't seem to mind but it's omakase, the chef knows best. -The wagyu was topped with truffle and boy was it delicious, my friends who got the uni instead loved theirs as well! -Negitoro Handroll: packed with toro and was a very refreshing end to the omakase -Otoro: just as you'll expect, it melts in your mouth and was a beautiful finish to the meal (not part of omakase) I will definitely be recommending Daigo to anyone that wants some great sushi in the area! read more

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I love this place for good local sushi! Fresh fish, great service! It tends to book out quickly so call ahead for reservations. If it's the same day, I would call and try to get in at 5pm when they open which tends to be easier. I pretty much tried everything on the menu. I love the Chawanmushi with Hokkaido uni supplement and tasting the sake selections! read more

got the salmon citrus, dragon, and hanabi special rolls. everything tasted great, cute smaller venue where you can sit at the counter and watch the orders be prepared. felt like an authentic experience. lots of seats were reserved, probably a good place to call ahead. read more

Daigo - bottom to top: salmon citrus roll, dragon roll, hanabi roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Palo Alto, California

I came here last week with my sister in law, her husband and my husband. This is not the first time I have been to Daigo. It was probably my 4th time. Every single time it does not disappoint. Service is great and the food is exceptional. I feel like I am in Japan! Love coming here and will continue to bring loved ones here. read more

The portion is small but we were really satisfied by the time we left. We had omakase which was really good. The shot was amazing and highly recommended! read more

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The food was fantastic and fresh, but the experience was a little soured from our main waitress trying to rush us with orders before we were ready. I joined the waitlist online on a Saturday evening at 6pm, and was seated about 20 minutes later. Location: The place was located in a bit of an alleyway, and was not easily visible from the street or a car. I would have had a hard time finding it if google maps wasn't so accurate with the location. There were several parking lots nearby with plenty of free parking. I only had to walk 5 minutes from where I parked, but I saw even closer lots on my walk there. Food: Me and my girlfriend both ordered the 9 piece omakase and a clam and mushroom miso soup as an appetizer. The soup was amazing and my favorite item of the night. The clams were fresh and there was a good amount in the soup. The fish here was very fresh and seasoned well, and my favorite cuts of the night were the salmon belly and amberjack. The omakase fish came exclusively from the daily special fish list, and the cost ended up being the same as ordering each piece individually. If you know exactly what types of fish you want, I would recommend ordering individually. Otherwise, if you want to try a variety of fish or don't know what you'll like most, the omakase is still a good option. Service: The only thing that took away from the great experience was the waitress we had. She would rush us to order and get appetizers, claiming the wait for the food would be long, which ended up being untrue. She again pressured us to order more while we were only halfway done eating. None of the other waiters gave off that vibe, and were very patient. We did order additional items through a different waiter, but only after we finished our omakase and knew what we liked best. The additional pieces came out very quickly, contrary to what the waitress kept claiming. read more

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Wow!! Great service and phenomenal sushi spot! Hidden gem in Palo Alto. Add to your bucket-list of restaurants to check out. read more

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lunch was the opposite, its like this place is run by two owners. We've been frequent here (almost weekly for omakase dinner) so we thought lunch should be just as good for the freshness of the ingredient. Wrong, its like the leftover from "a week" ago. This is quite common for sushi restaurants in peninsula run by Chinese where dinner is great and lunch is YUCKY. We ordered variety of sushi today and none tasted fresh (or even tasted like fish), and rice was hard and burned which you can tell its from the night before. We were eating in disbelief. 4 of us looked at each other and were like...seriously?! The male server/ staff was nonchalant (not friendly) we were very disappointed. We like to continue supporting this place as the chef has been doing such excellent job for omakase dinner and we've been getting over a dozen friends over so far for dinner and everyone loved it. sometimes it takes ONE bad experience to ruin it all. Well, we've reached consensus that we will only come here for dinner from now on. read more

Love this hidden gem for date night and getting my sashimi fix on! Great, high quality fish that you often can't find in other sushi/sashimi restaurants. Love the variety of unique fish from all over the world. We don't typically do rolls here, but the nigiri and sashimi is excellent! Slightly in the expensive side, but well worth it if you appreciate fish :) read more

High quality sushi at a reasonable price! I've been on the hunt for a good Omakase spot that doesn't charge an arm and a leg. We heard from a friend that Daigo might be one the best spots in the Southbay (outside of SF) and they were right! We came here on a Tuesday night and were lucky to get seated at the bar. They have 3 different Omakase choices: 5, 9 and 12 piece. We opted for the 12 piece which was $75 per person. You have a choice of uni or wagyu as your last serving. We were impressed with the unique and high quality sushi they had to offer. Every nigiri was unique in flavor, no soy sauce or wasabi needed. Meant to be enjoyed by picking up with your hands like in Japan! read more

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Like many of the other Yelp reviews, I was really torn on my final rating. The fish here was mostly fresh, but overpriced. I liked that they had a lot of variety and specialty fish, but the taste wasn't as good as I've had at other Japanese restaurants. I ended up at 3 stars for the final rating, since I had a good dinner here, but I probably wouldn't return based on the quality and portions for the price. They were already pretty full at 6:15pm on a Tuesday. We were still able to grab some seats at the bar, and tried: -Eryngi Tempura (King Oyster Mushroom, Truffle Salt, Aonori, $8, https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=QHT_USr_TWRW4mydrfzL2Q&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg): Good, but nothing special. Worth trying once, or if you really enjoy oyster mushrooms. -Hamachi Toro ($13.50/Sashimi, https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=-RvLh_Lbc1XTD8ZbGd81OA&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg): I wasn't a fan of how the sashimi was sliced, and I feel like I've had fattier hamachi toro. -Aka-Yagara/Cornet Fish ($5), Zuke Sake Toro/Soy Marinade Scottish Salmon Belly ($5), Aoebi/Blue Shrimp ($6) [https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=O8i4dPi6i1D-YpTZwk8DQA&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg]: The cornet fish was very firm, and didn't have much fat. The zuke sake toro was good, but we didn't like the blue shrimp, which managed to be firm but kind of mushy at the same time. -Uni ($11), Ikura ($5). Wagyu ($12), California Hand Roll ($6) [https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=UIkUhdRRx6N-NMeDOrkSOw&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg]: The uni had a slight bitterness on the finish, and it was a small portion. The ikura was also a tiny portion. The wagyu was nice and fatty, and my favorite out of this group. The hand roll was just ok- the crab mix needed more mayo. -Sake ($3) & Amaebi ($6) [https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=2WP1Tu6s33szcdzWUg0mDg&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg]: The salmon was fresh, but needed to be more buttery. The amaebi was a bit mushy, and not very sweet. This place is pretty small, and you'll likely be able to hear the conversations of all of your immediate neighbors. They also have some outdoor seating on the patio, but there are a lot of trees outside. Overall, the sushi from here was just ok for me. They use brown rice for their sushi rice, and it changes the texture of the nigiri. Also, they use a lot of vinegar and soy sauce, and the rice is falling apart when you bit it up. It was over $100/person (including tax and tip), which was super pricey for a casual weeknight dinner. Based on this experience, I doubt I'll be back. Parking in this area can be tough, but there is free parking in the lots and on the street after 6pm. read more

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We came here for the omikase experience. It was very good but I didn't love the ambience for such a pricey meal. Service was ok, but after paying $350 for dinner, I didn't appreciate being told that another party was waiting for our seats at the bar. The overall vibe was sort of stuffy and joyless, but the sushi was very high quality. read more

We went to Daigo a couple of weeks ago and it was such a delightful treat! We didn't have a reservation, but the hostess and the team treated us so well and were very accommodating! I really enjoyed the service. The price for their nigiri and sashimi were on the higher end, but the quality stands behind this. There were a lot of fish that I hadn't seen in other Japanese/sushi restaurants in the Bay and our server did a great job walking us through the menu. For appetizer, we had the idako karaage ended up ordering a hamachi handroll, negi hama, hamachi, uni, wagyu, and shrimp nigiri while my partner ordered the nigiri omakase with uni. I would definitely recommend ordering the omakase to get a feel of which nigiris are your favorite! We had dessert, a mango cheesecake, which was alright. I would definitely come back again. This place is so warm, inviting, with delicious food! read more

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Delicious omakase for $85. The wagyu was a melt in you mouth experience with amazing flavor. It had to be the most memorable piece for me. Great staff and sake selection. read more

I would highly recommend to come here for dinner instead of lunch because the quality of sushi really varies a lot. The first time I came here was for dinner, sitting at the counter. I ordered lots of nigiri and I was glad they had daily special menu for all fresh fish imported from many places. Wasabi, soy sauce and spices (especially pepper) were at the heavy side, some even covered the original taste of fish. The lunch was a bit disappointment. The waitress told me they had fresh fish coming every day but was in processing during lunch time, so the option for lunch nigiri was very limited. My biggest complaint was the tamago... it was way too salty.. I bet the chef pour a lot dashi stock in it that I stopped eating after one bite. Overall it's still a good place to get sushi. But really should go dinner only :) read more

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Sushi was good. But the prices are steep. It's nice they have a patio are that you can sit and have a stroller. Service was quick and friendly. Sushi prices for what you get are overpriced and not worth it. It was nice to try but I left hungry and got a second meal afterwards lol read more

To be completely honest, I'm not entirely too sure how to rate this place. Ingredients are very fresh and excellent, but they constantly do unnecessary things to sour the experience. I went for a couple of items off their daily special menu since the waiter told me that the omakase just serves random cuts off the special menu. A couple cuts were very flavorful and impressive - the Ji Kinmedai and Kamatoro were cuts I haven't had before, and were both well seasoned and very flavorful. That was basically the high point though. With the Zuke Sake Toro, what should normally be an extremely decadent cut of salmon instead tasted entirely of the soy marinade. A bit of salmon skin was included in a futile attempt to salvage the dish. The Aoebi was extremely... unique for lack of a better word. While very umami focused, it was extremely dry and almost dehydrated. It was almost as if I was eating some preserved shrimp jerky, albeit with better texture. The worst offender was the A5 Wagyu. The beef itself was extremely skillfully prepared - quickly torch-seared and well rested to deliver that ecstatic marbled goodness I've come to expect out of A5. However, what should have been a smooth ride suddenly becomes a 101-worthy accident as they ruin it with liberal amounts of truffle salt. The worst thing is, this is a trend at Daigo. Very high quality ingredients get skillfully prepared only to meet a cruel fate of being assaulted by bad seasoning (usually truffle salt). With the oyster mushroom tempura, the truffle salt may be excusable, but with the hamachi shot, what should have been a harmonious blend of hamachi, egg, and some garnish resulted in a cacophonous mix of truffle salt and ponzu violating all my taste buds. Why even use hamachi at that point? Might as well use cheap frozen tuna. The target audience is clearly wrong. High quality ingredients are used to justify the exorbitant prices, yet get buried under a torrent of cheap and pedestrian seasonings. So a new sushi place takes over the inconspicuous location off the side of Cal Ave. Excited by the reviews, I quickly hopped over to give the place a try, hoping to find a close source of good sushi. Guess I'll have to look elsewhere. read more

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Based on the reviews, we were expecting high quality fish and nigiri, but I guess we went during the wrong time. Apparently you cannot order anything extraordinary during lunch, we did take a look at the dinner menu and were told they cannot provide anything on it. So ended up ordering items you can find in typical Japanese restaurant, got similar quality stuff, and payed extra price. Walked out the restaurant feeling not full and confused. The sashimi I had was not what I expected, salmon is very good, but the other fish were not impressive at all, even a bit fishy. Rolls were very typical. Maybe we had too high of expectations. Anyway, maybe would try their dinner in the future but not coming back for lunch. read more

Daigo - Sashimi lunch. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Palo Alto, California

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Finally authentic nigiri and sashimi in Palo Alto! There's a dearth of quality sushi in Palo Alto with establishments like Fuki Sushi being a relic of the past (although still priced as a top tier) and Jin Sho or Nobu representing the newer modern sushi but lacking in the authenticity of establishments farther north in San Mateo or San Francisco. Daigo replaces long time favorite and casual takeout spot Homma's Brown Rice sushi with a more upscale and traditional sushiya experience in a very compact space. Despite not being Japanese run, Daigo impresses with an extensive specials menu (rivals Gintei in San Bruno) and solid knife skills. Nigiri are priced per piece which means prices do add up quickly but the plus side is you can also sample a lot of variety. The appetizer selection is quite varied as well and Daigo has clearly benefited from the experience and name value of their popular SF Sunset location. Our order: Hamachi Shot - $6. A riff on the famous appetizer originally from Alexander's Steakhouse that utilizes yellowtail Sushi in a cocktail glass. Flavors are not quite as varied and flavorful as Alexander's but the sashimi is fresh. Omakase 8 piece Nigiri Sampler - $40. A nice variety of fish that is well portioned with red vinegar rice and appropriately cold fish slices and warmer rice. The rice isn't as acidic as Sushi Yoshizumi's unmatched rice nor is it held together as nicely but that's not unreasonable at this price point. A la carte Nigiri - $5-$11. Standouts included firefly squid, A5 Wagyu, and Hokkaido Uni. As mentioned above, I loved the variety available (changes daily) with many less popular fish such as Iwashi and kinmedai, but prices add up. BTW the butterfish on the menu is ebodai or Japanese butterfish and not the butterfish commonly known as escolar, which seems to be a fish available mainly at non-Japanese buffets (a bad idea as the laxative effect is based on quantity). Maki Rolls - $5-7. Nice variety and good as fillers if you're not a fan of sushi rolls of which they have a selection. Overall, Daigo is a welcome addition to Palo Alto, especially in this compact and semi-hidden location that once housed my go to Palo Alto sushi spot Homma's (mainly take out and brown rice so atypical). While I spent a pretty penny here, I left happy with my meal and happy to say that Daigo represents a quality I usually drive up farther north for. With rising gas prices, let's call it even. Daigo accepts credit cards including Amex. read more

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We walked out due to rude waitstaff. We just did not feel welcome here and that is a shame because we were looking forward to a celebratory dinner. read more

My brother suggested we come here on a Thursday - but also mentioned we ought to get there as close to their 5 pm opening for dinner as possible since it gets crowded quickly for a first come first serve place that seats about 20 inside and 10 outside. This get there early recommendation should be heeded for Friday and weekends - for Thursday - you can delay it to 5:30. I decided to go with the 12 piece Omakase and also one piece of Waigyu to finish. The recommended 8 oz pour of Sake with hints of strawberry and melon was on point. The fish is flown in fresh from Japan and while I've had better Omakase in the past 6 months (Tampa and Katy, Tx) - the price is right. Don't expect a 2 to 3 hour experience - rather if you want a notch above your usual sushi place in terms of quality and plan to complete your meal in an hour or so - this is your place. The owner was friendly as all the workers - but it may help that my brother is a regular. I'd certainly be a regular if it was located back home. This place hits the sweet spot between your high price high end and average Japanese restaurant read more

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This place is located at the original brown rice sushi place. I guess the Japanese grandpa finally retired!:-) Daigo continues the legacy - a hidden gem in Palo Alto. We immediately fell in love with this place! The food: all their sea food are extremely fresh! The menu is just one page, but has plenty of good options! The salmon citrus is definitely the highlight!!! Well balanced rice to fish ratio with a hint of lemon! Super refreshing for a summer day dinner!! We also really enjoyed the seasoning for the oyster mushroom tempura, the batter is very flavorful. It reminds me those salt and pepper chicken I got in Taiwan..!! The service: extremely friendly and attentive!! The ambience: apparently this place is newly decorated. Very clean and modern looking. We will definitely frequent this place ======================= Okay, as promised, we did come back to this place. Consistently good! Adding more photos. read more

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Nigiri omakase with uni - highly recommend! Excellent service with great suggestions! read more

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They have the original location deep in SF, so I've never made it out there. It's nice that they have a peninsula location now. The space near California Ave is fairly small - it's located behind the Birch St bistro (not at the front of the street). They have 6 counter seats and 4 tables plus a small patio. The menu has rolls, crudo, sushi/sashimi, and a few other options. Drink-wise, it's beer / wine / sake (no hard liquor). To start - - Sunomono: pickles cucumbers with seaweed, refreshing - Eryngi tempura: king oyster mushroom tempura with truffle salt. Fresh fried. The seasoning was good, and the batter wasn't too heavy We got one Nigiri dinner (8 pieces plus tekka maki 6 pieces, and miso soup) for $39. Their shari was nicely seasoned. Fish portions on the nigiri were a little variable. A la carte prices for nigiri are $5-8 a piece on average. - Akami: lean, cured - Ji kinmedai: rich - Zuke binnaga: almost melts in your mouth; I actually preferred the akami - Kamasu: lightly torched - Hotate: sweet, fresh - Ikura: standard - Tamago: solid shrimp flavor, good texture For the individual sushi pieces, you get pickled baby ginger (way better than the usual sliced pickled stuff). Food comes out pretty quickly, and the staff is friendly. It's a solid sushi option for the area. read more